1

Concrete Mix Design

1. THE PRINCIPLE OF MIX DESIGN
Mix design means to develop the concrete composition (in terms of kg of
each component in 1 m
3
of concrete) by taking into account:
the data dealing with the placement of fresh concrete such as workability,
transportation time, temperature, slump loss, density of metallic reinforce-
ments, etc.
the engineering properties required in service for the hardened concrete such
as strength, durability, drying shrinkage, creep, elastic modulus, etc.;
the available materials in terms of cement

, aggregate, and chemical admix-

tures.
Due to the experience accumulated in more than a century, some consolida-
ted relationships between concrete properties in the fresh and/or the hardened
state on one hand, and the concrete composition on the other, have been conso-
lidated. These relationships concern:
- the water-cement ratio (w/c) which is the most important parameter affecting
the most important properties such as strength, durability, permeability, drying
shrinkage, and creep;
- the choice of the aggregate which, for the type (natural or crushed) and
size, affect the amount of mixing water and then at a given w/c the
amount of cement and therefore all the properties depending on the cement
content (c): thermal gradients related to the amount of cement hydration,
shrinkage, etc.;
- the use of chemical admixtures, and in particular of water reducers, which can
improve the properties of fresh and hardened concrete: workability, compres-
sive strength, durability, etc.;
- the cement content (c) which often is presented as most signicant parameter
of the mixture, is really the consequence of the other parameters; the most im-
portant technical contributions of cements to the properties of concrete, and
in particular to the durability of concrete structures, is the type of cement:
slag cements CEM III, pozzolanic cements CEM IV, and composite cements CEM
V are denitely better than other cements in protecting the concrete from sea
water in maritime works, from de-icing salts in highway concrete structures,

mineral admixtures such as y ash, blast furnace ground granulated slag, silica fume,
ground limestone will be considered as part of blended cements according to the Euro-
pean cements
2
from sulphate-rich in ground works such as foundations, tunnels, etc. The other
important parameter of the cement is its strength class which can reduce the
demoulding time particularly in winter times or allows the manufacture of
high-strength concretes for special purposes.
2. TYPES OF MIX DESIGN
We can distinguish two types of mix design:
simple mix design when the requirements are:
- characteristic strength (f
ck
);
- workability (W);
- type and strength class of cement (t
c
);
- maximum size (D
max
) and type of aggregate (natural or crushed);
complex mix design which includes at least an other parameter such as:
- early compressive strength;
- exural and or tensile strength;
- durability;
- permeability.
These additional requirements can need a water-cement ratio different from
that determined by the characteristic strength. In such a case the lowest w/c is
chosen to meet all the requirements.
2.1 SIMPLE MIX DESIGN
Figure 1 schematically shows the full process of a simple mix design to deter-
mine the content of cement (c), water (w), sand (s), gravel (G) (in kg/m
3
) and
the volume of air (V
a
) in L/m
3
.
The characteristic strength (f
ck
), in MPa, is transformed into a mean 28-day
compressive strength (f
mc28
) according to the following equations depending on
the Criterion 1 or 2 adopted to check the concrete characteristic strength:
Criterion 1 (for the initial 3 test results): f
mc28
f
ck
+ 4 [1]
Criterion 2 (for the following 15 test results): f
mc28
f
ck
+ 1,48 [2]
where is the standard deviation.
3
Fig. 1 - The full process of a concrete mix design
MEAN COMPRESSIVE
STRENGTH (28 days)
w/c
WORKABILITY OF
FRESH CONCRETE
PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF
THE AVAILABLE AGGREGATES
TYPE/SIZE OF
AGGREGATE
TYPE AND STRENGTH
CLASS OF CEMENT
w
w/c
w
d
c
V
con
= 1000 L
d
a
a = V
a
d
a
V
a
= V
con
- V
c
- V
w
- V
a
PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF
THE IDEAL AGGREGATE
d
s
s = V
s
d
s
G = V
G
d
G
d
a
1* 2**
CHARACTERISTIC
STRENGTH
* Criterion 1 to assess the characteristic strength
** Criterion 2 to assess the characteristic strength
V
w
= w
4
Trough Fig. 2 the f
mc28
strength is transformed into the water-cement ratio (w/
c) provided that the type and strength class of the available cement is known.
Trough Fig. 3 the amount of mixing water is determined by knowing the re-
quired slump, and the maximum size (D
max
) and the type of aggregate (natural
or crushed).
The amount of mixing water must be reduced by 10 kg/m
3
for natural aggre-
gates and increased by 10 kg/m
3
for cruched aggregates.
Fig. 2 - The inuence of cement strength class on the concrete compressive strength
100
80
60
40
30
20
0
0,3 0,5 0,61 0,71 0,9 1,2
0,68
C
U
B
E

2
8
-
D
A
Y

C
O
M
P
R
E
S
S
I
V
E
S
T
R
E
N
G
T
H

(
M
P
a
)
w/c
t = 28 days
CEM I 52.5 R
CEM II-A/L 42.5 R
CEM III-B 32.5 R
Cement:
Fig 3 - The inuence of the aggregate maximum size on the workability of the fresh concrete
25
20
15
10
5
0
100 150 190 200 215 230 250 300
W
o
r
k
a
b
i
l
i
t
y

(
s
l
u
m
p

i
n

c
m
)
:

L
Mixing water (w) in kg/m
3
Dmax: 40 20 10
5
Through Fig. 4 the air percentage by volume of concrete (a) is determined.
Then the cement content (c) is calculated:
c = w/ (w/c) [3]
MEAN COMPRESSIVE
STRENGTH (28 days)
w/c
WORKABILITY OF
FRESH CONCRETE
TYPE/SIZE OF
AGGREGATE
TYPE AND STRENGTH
CLASS OF CEMENT
w
w/c
w
1* 2**
CHARACTERISTIC
STRENGTH
Fig. 4 - The inuence of the aggregate maximum size on the air volume a
(in % by concrete volume)
2
0
0 20 40 60 80
a
'

(
%
)
Dmax (mm)
4
a = % by vol. of air
6
The volume (in L per 1 m
3
of concrete) of aggregate V
a
is determined through
a volume balance by subtracting to the volume of 1 m
3
of concrete (V
con
) the vo-
lume of cement (V
c
), of water (V
w
), of aggregate (V
a
) and of air (V
a
):
V
a
= V
con
V
c
V
w
V
a
= 1000 - c/d
c
- w - 10 - 10 a [4]
where d
c
= density of cement 3.15 kg/L
The last important aspect of the mix design deals with the combination of two
or more aggregates (in general sand and gravel) in order to produce a combined
aggregate as close as possible to an ideal aggregate.
MEAN COMPRESSIVE
STRENGTH (28 days)
w/c
WORKABILITY OF
FRESH CONCRETE
TYPE/SIZE OF
AGGREGATE
TYPE AND STRENGTH
CLASS OF CEMENT
w
w/c
w
d
c
V
con
= 1000 L
d
a
a = V
a
d
a
V
a
= V
con
- V
c
- V
w
- V
a
1* 2**
CHARACTERISTIC
STRENGTH
V
w
= w
d
a
= density of aggregate 2.7 kg/L
7
The ideal aggregate can be a set of particles with the minimum volume of
voids among the aggregate particles (Fller and Thompson) or an aggregate with
a slightly higher volume of voids (Bolomey) in order to improve the workability.
MEAN COMPRESSIVE
STRENGTH (28 days)
w/c
WORKABILITY OF
FRESH CONCRETE
PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF
THE AVAILABLE AGGREGATES
TYPE/SIZE OF
AGGREGATE
TYPE AND STRENGTH
CLASS OF CEMENT
w
w/c
w
d
c
V
con
= 1000 L
d
a
a = V
a
d
a
V
a
= V
con
- V
c
- V
w
- V
a
PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF
THE IDEAL AGGREGATE
1* 2**
CHARACTERISTIC
STRENGTH
V
w
= w
8
Independently of the adopted ideal aggregate the volume of total aggrega-
te V
a
can be divided in the volume of sand (V
s
) an the volume of gravel (V
G
):
V
a
= V
s
+ V
G
[5]
MEAN COMPRESSIVE
STRENGTH (28 days)
w/c
WORKABILITY OF
FRESH CONCRETE
PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF
THE AVAILABLE AGGREGATES
TYPE/SIZE OF
AGGREGATE
TYPE AND STRENGTH
CLASS OF CEMENT
w
w/c
w
d
c
V
con
= 1000 L
d
a
a = V
a
d
a
V
a
= V
con
- V
c
- V
w
- V
a
PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF
THE IDEAL AGGREGATE
1* 2**
CHARACTERISTIC
STRENGTH
V
w
= w
9
Finally the volume of sand and aggregate are converted in weight (kg/m
3
) of
sand (s) and gravel (G) by knowing the specic weight of sand (d
s
) and gravel
(d
G
):
s = V
s
d
s
[6]
G = V
G
d
G
[7]
MEAN COMPRESSIVE
STRENGTH (28 days)
w/c
WORKABILITY OF
FRESH CONCRETE
PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF
THE AVAILABLE AGGREGATES
TYPE/SIZE OF
AGGREGATE
TYPE AND STRENGTH
CLASS OF CEMENT
w
w/c
w
d
c
V
con
= 1000 L
d
a
a = V
a
d
a
V
a
= V
con
- V
c
- V
w
- V
a
PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF
THE IDEAL AGGREGATE
d
s
s = V
s
d
s
G = V
G
d
G
d
a
1* 2**
CHARACTERISTIC
STRENGTH
V
w
= w
10
So the nal result of a mix design is to give the full recipe of the concrete
(in kg/m
3
) in terms of cement (c), water (w), sand (s), and coarse aggregate such
as a gravel (G).
2.2 EXAMPLE OF A SIMPLE MIX DESIGN
An example of simple mix design will be shown with the cube characteristic
strength (f
cu/ck
) determined according to the Criterion 1 or 2. These are the re-
quirements and available ingredients:
f
cu/ck
= 20 MPa
workability: slump = 15 cm
cement: CEM II A/L 42.5 R
maximum size (D
max
) of the coarse aggregate = 40 mm
Criterion 1
By adopting the Criterion 1 the 28-day mean compressive strength f
cu/mc28
is:
f
cu/mc28
= f
cu/ck
+ 4 = 20 + 4 = 24 MPa
The cube 28-day mean compressive strength (f
cu/mc28
) of 24 MPa corresponds to
a water-cement ratio (w/c) of 0.77 according to Figure:
100
80
60
40
30
20
0
0,3 0,5 0,61 0,71 0,9 1,2
0,77
C
U
B
E

2
8
-
D
A
Y

C
O
M
P
R
E
S
S
I
V
E
S
T
R
E
N
G
T
H

(
M
P
a
)
w/c
t = 28 days
CEM I 52.5 R
CEM II-A/L 42.5 R
CEM III-B 32.5 R
Cement:
11
Therefore the cement content (c) is.
w/c = 0.77 = 190/c = 0.77 c = 190/0.77 = 247 kg/m
3
From Fig. 4 the percentage of air (a) by volume of concrete is determined:
in the presence of a coarse aggregate with the maximum size of 40 mm a = 1%
which corresponds to a volume V
a
of 10 L/m
3
:
The aggregate volume (V
a
) is then determined through the equation [5]:
V
a
= V
con
V
c
V
w
V
a
= 1000 247/3.15 190 10 = 721 L/m
3
If the density of the aggregate (d
a
) is 2.7 kg/L , the weight of the aggregate
(a) can be determined:
a = V
a
d
a
= 721 2.7 = 1948 kg/m
3
2
1
0
0 20 40 60 80
a
'

(
%
)
Dmax (mm)
4
12
Table 1 shows the composition of the concrete in terms of c, w and a as a
function of the required properties and the available batching plant according to
the Criterion 1.
Table 1 - Properties, available materials and concrete composition according to Criterion 1
Required Properties Available Materials Concrete Composition
f
cu/ck
= 20 MPa Cement: CEM II-A/L 42.5R w = 190 kg/m
3
Slump = 15 cm D
max
of aggregate = 40 mm c = 250 kg/m
3
Criterion 1 K = 4 MPa a = 1950 kg/m
3
Criterion 2
By adopting the Criterion 2, the 28-day mean compressive strength f
cu/mc28
is:
f
cu/mc28
f
cu/ck
+ k
where is the standard deviation:
where f
cu/ic28
is the 28-day cube compressive strength of the individual test and
n is the number of the available tests.
If the standard deviation of the batching plant is 7 MPa , the f
cu/mc28
can be
determined through the equation [2]:
f
cu/mc28
20 + 1.4 = 20 + 1.4 7 = 30 MPa
=
(f
cu/i28
-f
cu/cm28
)
2
n - 1
13
From Fig. 2 the w/c = 0.68 can be determined when the cement CEM II-A/L
42.5 R is adopted:
From Fig. 3 the amount of mixing water can be determined (w = 190 kg/m
3
)
when the required slump is 15 cm and the maximum size of the available aggre-
gate is 40 mm:
100
80
60
40
30
20
0
0,3 0,5 0,61 0,71 0,9 1,2
0,68
C
U
B
E

2
8
-
D
A
Y

C
O
M
P
R
E
S
S
I
V
E
S
T
R
E
N
G
T
H

(
M
P
a
)
w/c
t = 28 days
CEM I 52.5 R
CEM II-A/L 42.5 R
CEM III-B 32.5 R
Cement:
25
20
15
10
5
0
100 150 190 200 215 230 250 300
W
o
r
k
a
b
i
l
i
t
y

(
s
l
u
m
p

i
n

c
m
)
:

L
Mixing water (w) in kg/m
3
Dmax: 40 20 10
14
Therefore the cement content (c) is:
w/c = 0.68 = 190/c c = 190/0.68 = 279 kg/m
3
From Fig. 4 the percentage of air (a) by volume of concrete is determined :
in the presence of a coarse aggregate with the maximum size of 40 mm, a = 1%
which corresponds to a volume of V
a
of 10 L/m
3
.
The aggregate volume (V
a
) is then determined through the equation [5]:
V
a
= V
con
V
c
V
w
Va = 1000 279/3.15 190 10 = 711 L/m
3
If the density of the aggregate (d
a
) is 2.7 kg/L , the weight of the aggregate
(a) can be determined:
a = V
a
d
a
= 711 2.7 = 1920 kg/m
3
Table 2 shows the composition of the concrete in terms of c, w and a as a
function of the required properties and the available batching plant according to
the Criterion 2.
Table 2 - Properties, available materials and concrete composition according to Criterion 2
Required Properties Available Materials Concrete Composition
f
cu/ck
= 20 MPa Cement: CEM II-A/L 42.5R w = 190 kg/m
3
Slump = 20 cm D
max
of aggregate = 40 mm c = 280 kg/m
3
Criterion 2 K = 1.4 7 = 10 MPa a = 1920 kg/m
3
Therefore for the same characteristic strength (f
cu/ck
) of 20 MPa there are two
28-day mean compressive strength (f
cu/28mc
) of 30 Mpa or 24 MPa depending on
the Criterion (1 or 2 respectively) adopted. Consequently there are two concrete
compositions.
Criterion 1 w = 190 kg/m
3
c = 250 kg/m
3
a = 1950 kg/m
3
Criterion 2 w = 190 kg/m
3
c = 280 kg/m
3
a = 1920 kg/m
3
There are other properties, such as drying shrinkage, creep and thermal hea-
ting which depend on the concrete compositions and then on the adopted Crite-
rion 1 or 2 to assess the characteristic strength.
15
2.2 COMPLEX MIX DESIGN
When, besides the 28-day compressive strength, there are other required pro-
perties for the hardened concrete (durability, permeability, early compressive
strength, exural or tensile strength) the mix design becomes complex since the
w/c value depends on more parameters. Figure 5 indicates the different w/c as
a function of the specic property. Since the w/c must be only one, the lowest
value (w/c)
min
is selected among all the required values, so that all the required
properties of the hardened concrete are met:
Once the w/c is selected, the complex mix design goes on with the other steps
as in the simple mix design.
2.2.1. EXAMPLE OF COMPLEX MIX DESIGN
An example of complex mix design will be shown with the cube characteristic
strength (f
cu/ck
) determined according to the Criterion 1. These are the require-
ments and available ingredients:
f
cu/ck
= 25 MPa
durability: exposure class = XC4 w/c 0.50
workability: slump = 15 cm
CHARACTERISTIC
STRENGTH
EARLY
COMPRESSIVE
STRENGTH
DURABILITY
(w/c)
1
(w/c)
2
(w/c)
3
(w/c)
min
(w/c)
5
(w/c)
4
PERMEABILITY
FLEXURAL/TENSILE
STRENGTH
Fig. 5 - Choice of the mimimum water-cement ratio (w/c)
min
to meet all the required properties
16
cement: CEM II B/L 32.5 R
maximum size (D
max
) of the coarse aggregate = 40 mm
The choice of the water-cement ratio capable to meet both the characteristic
strength and the durability requirement is illustrated in Fig. 6 where the f
cu/ck
according to the Criterion 1 is shown as a function of w/c for a cement CEM II
B/L 32.5 R:
The (w/c)
1
for the strength requirement of (f
cu/ck
of 25 MPa is 0.63, whereas to
meet the durability requirement (exposure class = XC4) the water-cement ratio
(w/c)
2
is at most 0.50. Between the values of 0.63 and 0.50 the lowest value must
be adopted as water-cement ratio: (w/c)
min
= 0.50
The amount of mixing water (190 kg/m
3
) is the same as that determined in
the example of simple mix design (Fig. 3) due to the same D
max
of 40 mm and the
same required slump of 15 cm.
Therefore the cement content (c) is:
w/c = 0.50 = 190/c c = 190/0.50 = 380 kg/m
3
According to Fig. 4, the percentage of air (a) by volume of concrete, in the
presence of a coarse aggregate with the maximum size of 40 mm, is a = 1% whi-
ch corresponds to a volume of V
a
of 10 L/m
3
.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
w/c
f
c
u
/
c
k

(
M
P
a
)
(w/c)
1
(w/c)
2
f
cu/ck
= 25
f
cu/ck
* = 36
CEM II B/L 32.5R
Exposure class:
XC4 (w/c)
2
0.50
Fig. 6 - Choice of the w/c as a function of the characteristic strength and durability
17
The aggregate volume (V
a
) is then determined through the equation [5]:
V
a
= V
con
V
c
V
w
V
a
= 1000 380/3.15 190 10 = 679 L/m
3
If the density of the aggregate (d
a
) is 2.7 kg/L , the weight of the aggregate
(a) can be determined:
a = V
a
d
a
= 679 2.7 = 1834 kg/m
3
The rounded off composition of the concrete is:
c = 380 kg/m
3
w = 190 kg/m
3
a = 1830 kg/m
3